Desk top



W. A. SMILEY.

DESK TOP. YAPPLICATION FILED FEB. 17. 1921.

1,116,518. Patented May16,192 2.

l/VVENTOR h S W/ky r w TTOR/VIIY ear-ear WILLIAM A. SMILEY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE INNER BRACED SEATING COMPANY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

DESK TOP.

1 0 aZZ whom it m d-y concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. SMILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Desk Tops; and I do declare the following-to be a-full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a movable seat desk and particularly to a top therefor. The top is supported upon a standard preferably constituting one of the legs of the chair and it consists of two members, one of which is rigid and the other hinged thereto to swing into and out of functional position.

The novelfeature of the invention consists in providing an improved form of hinge or connection for securing the movable part of the top to the rigid part thereof so that when the movable part is swung down into horizontal or functional position, its surface will be flush with the surface of the rigid part and when it is swung into vertical position, the hinged portion will be guarded so that the fingers of the operator will not be caught between the edges of the complementary parts.

It is to be understood that desks of the class herein illustrated are adapted for very young children and with the ordinary form of hinge, there is always liability that the childs fingers will be caught between the complementary edges of the top. This will be impossible with the construction of hinge disclosed in my invention.

()ne of the hinge members may be extended slightly beyond one edge of the top to constitute a book end or stop to eliminate the liability of a book sliding off the desk top.

The novel form of my invention will be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair desk constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view through the two complementary members of the desk top. showing them in functional position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the mov- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Itia 16 1922 Application filed February 17, 1921.

Serial No. 445,8e8.

able member moved out of functional posi- The base of the desk is illustrated as in the 2 form of a chair 1 having a standard 2,'constituting one of the legs of the chair and the opposite sides of the chair areprovided with book racks 3 and 1. The standard 2 supports an adjustable top rest 5, which, so far as this invention is concerned, may be of any construction.

The top carried by the rest 5 is shown as consisting of two members 6 and 7. The member 6 is shown as provided with a recessed edge 8, undercut as at 9, the floor 10 of the recess being on an arc concentric with the pivot 11 of the hinged members 12 and 13 fastened to opposite ends of the members 6 and 7. The hinged members 12 and 13 consist of strips pivoted at 11 and one of said strips 18 is provided with a segmental slot 14- to receive the pin 15 on the member 12. as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

The edge of the member 6 extends laterally to provide a bracket edge or rest 16, having a rib 17 extending across the same adjacent to the edge of the recess 10 and curved on an arc, the line from the inner edge of the recess 10 to the outer edge of the rib 17 describing a compound curve, the remaining portion of the extension 16 having a flat surface 18, as shown.

The member 7 is provided with atongue 19 having an inclined edge 20 corresponding to the undercut portion 9 of the recess 10 and provided with a face 21 corresponding in curvature to the floor of the recess 10, the face 21 continuing in a curve to provide a groove 22. corresponding to the rib 17 andpreferably faced with a sound-deadening material 23., such as felt and the like.

The member 7 ispreferably of less thickness than the thickness of the member 6 so that it may lie upon the rest or shelf 16, extending from the member 6 and be supported thereby, as shown in Fig. 2.

When the occupant is to use the desk, the member 7 may be swung up into position, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the occupant can be seated. Then the swinging member 7 may be moved down on the rest or support 16 so that the desk top will be continuous across the chair and a flat, smooth surface will be provided. The edges of one or both hinge members 12 and 13 may be extended slightly above the surface of the members 6 and 7 so as to constitute obstructions or barriers to resist sliding movement of books or papers over the edge of the top.

The member 6 may contain an ink well 1. A. desk top comprising a fixed member having an edge portion of less thickness than the body part provided with an undercut recess and an adjacent, upstanding rib, an extension hinged to the body of the fixed member, having a tongue projectable into said undercut recess and a groove {or receiving said rib, the face of said tongue and the face of said recess being concentric with the hinge axis.

2. A desk top comprising a substantially fixed member and a hinged member, the fixed member having a groove and a rib parallel with the groove, the hinged member having a tongue for insertion into the groove in the fixed member and having a grooved portion fitting over the rib, the rib and grooved portion being spaced to accommodate a facing, and a sound deadening facing on one of the members filling the space therebetween when the desk top is in functional position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM A. SMILEY. 

